James Franco: He Loves The Gays

He loves the gays, he really really loves the gays, they're so edgy, aren't they, the gays, oh yeah, hooray for the flipping gays...

Rolling Stone: On The Sexuality Of Terrorism

Today the output of our country’s tedious outrage machine relates to the above Rolling Stone cover about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (also spelled Jahar). It glamorizes him. It turns him...

Counterpoints:

* Presumably the protesters would have a tabloid treatment in which Rolling Stone would place horns on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Perhaps that would have made this nonsense go away.

* This is good journalism, as the photo depicts the same Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that The Post and the New York Times - and others - depicted in deeply reported pieces. That is, a regular, good guy with friends, interests and activities - a “joker,” even.

* Showing this alleged bomber in his full humanity makes him appear even more menacing.

* Some are saying that Rolling Stone is exploiting this image - this story - for commercial gain. Well, Rolling Stone is a magazine. It exploits all its stories for commercial gain, some more effectively than others.

Erik Wemple, Washington Post's blogger on news media.

Can you imagine how many people will see this, think he's a hot new rock star and end up joining Al-Qaeda?!!
The "Boycott it! Ban it" censorship bores are out in force over this one, of course.
If you Google "Rolling Stone Boston Bomber", the most popular adjective used to describe the photo appears to be "dreamy"...
Imagine the outrage if the dude was SHIRTLESS!
THAT WOULD BE THE PORNIFICATION OF TERRORISM!!!
BAN EVERYTHING NOW!!!!!!!!!!

PS Worth noting Wemple is one of the few journalists covering this to point out Jahar is the alleged bomber.

Update: Photos of the "Boston Bomber" after he's been shot all good, of course.

Bradley Manning: Like A Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone's BIG feature on Bradley Manning is now available to read in-full online here.
"He was a tortured gay soldier who exposed the darkest secrets of the U.S. military – and he has been paying the price ever since..."
Fagburn will have to read it later, but it's got the okay from the Bradley Manning Support Network.

Justin Bieber: Barely Legal

Alice Jones in The Independent isn't happy about that headline.
Worse still - she sees it as part of a disturbing trend.
"It's not alone. In the UK, Tom Daley's 18th was marked with a slew of salacious swimming trunk pictures and a rummage around for kiss and tells.
"That there's something unsavoury about the world waiting for teenage stars to be "ready and legal" goes without saying. Aged 17 and 364 days they're treated with faux propriety, but the minute they turn 18, the gloves are off – often along with the rest of the young talent's clothes."
There's a nice photo of Tom Daley in his trunks I saw online today, captioned 'Going Phwoar Gold'.
Oh look - it was in The Independent!

PS 'Looking Super Buff There, Tom!' - Mail Online front page today, right hand column, halfway down.

Justin Bieber: Do What Thou Wilt

Some know-nothing jerks are leaping up and down and waving their knickers in the air because Justin Bieber has said something cute but clumsy when he was asked what he thought about The Gays in his first big interview with Rolling Stone.
“It’s everyone’s own decision to do that. It doesn’t affect me and shouldn’t affect anyone else.”
The kid is 16 and was brought-up by a slightly loopy born-again Christian mum.
That's a pretty good call considering - Justin is just saying; "They should do what they want - it's fine by me".
Fagburn thinks anyone who picks holes in that answer is just a stuck-up asshole.
Leave Justin alone!

• You may have guessed there's fuck all else happening today. Fagburn is thinking about going to see Justin's movie, Never Say Never in 3FUCKINGD! , but I'm worried I'll look like some kind of pervert.

Uganda: Can't Happen Here

Several newspapers have run a story about the climate of homophobia in Uganda.
"Gay Ugandans have faced a fortnight of attacks and intimidation, say human rights campaigners, after a local newspaper published a list of the country's "top 100 homosexuals",' The Independent reports.
"As well as naming gay Ugandans – complete with photographs and addresses – Rolling Stone newspaper also claimed that a deadly disease was attacking homosexuals in Uganda, and said that gays were recruiting one million children by raiding schools."
That's terrible. Sounds like Britain in the 80s.